How can the digital economy enhance port resilience? Evidence from the Bohai Rim region

Against the backdrop of accelerating global digital transformation and complex supply chain risks faced by port systems, this study systematically investigates the dynamic relationship between the digital economy and port resilience, as well as its spatial mechanisms, based on panel data from the Bohai Rim region spanning 2010 to 2023. The research employs fixed-effects models, spatial Durbin models, and mediation effect models. The results show that: First, the digital economy exerts a significant positive effect on enhancing port resilience. Second, improvements in technological innovation capacity, advanced industrial restructuring, and optimized resource allocation efficiency constitute the core mediating pathways through which the digital economy empowers port resilience. Third, regional digital economic development not only boosts local port resilience but also generates positive spatial spillover effects on neighboring areas' port resilience. Fourth, the promoting effect of the digital economy on port resilience remains robust regardless of shock directionality and exhibits a gradient-decreasing pattern across the southern, western, and northern economic zones. Based on these conclusions, this paper proposes a policy framework for coordinated development between the digital economy and port resilience, providing theoretical foundations for the digital transformation of regional port clusters.